


Death Comes to Aubrey Hall

by Drachenfee



Category: Bridgerton Series - Julia Quinn
Genre: F/M, THIS IS NOT A CROSSOVER, since i apparently can't tag death as just death i'm going to steal the one from Terry Pratchett, warning: major character death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-17
Updated: 2021-02-17
Packaged: 2021-03-12 14:40:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29511231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Drachenfee/pseuds/Drachenfee
Summary: The day he has feared for most of his life arrives, the day he must finally leave his Katie.
Relationships: Anthony Bridgerton/Kate Sheffield
Comments: 4
Kudos: 45





	Death Comes to Aubrey Hall

**Author's Note:**

> As always: english is my second language, all your mistakes are belong to us, feel free to make me aware of grammar/spelling mistakes and I shall correct them at my earliest convenience.

When he finally does die, he is – despite previous predictions and expectations – quite ancient. His feet don’t carry him like they used to, his back aches. Every staircase is a torment, every hall seems endlessly long. Compared to him, his dear sweet Kate seems to not have aged a day. She still walks with a spring in her step, and as fast as any man.

Death comes and finds him on the sofa where he laid down to dream a little of sunny days and hunts in the woods and the laughter of the children, and of the time when he was the only man of the house, the only one worthy of Kate’s affections. Kate had to help him situate himself there, and the indignity of that itself might almost make his passing bearable.

When he wakes in the twilight realm between what has been and what comes next, the skeletal figure looms above him, while Kate – his dear, sweet, beloved Kate – is bend over his form and sobs.

“What will I do without you,” she gasps, clutching at his hair, stroking his chest, cradling him in her arms.

In the hall he can hear the shuffling steps of Kate’s other ‘one great love’. Never as imposing or as arrogant as he himself was, never as dear to Kate… and yet, he is to leave and the other is to stay. Fooling around with her on the grass, barking at her heels, growling when denied her good humor… it pains him to think of that mutt still being by her side (though Kate of course likes to think of him as pure pedigree), when he himself must leave her now.

He may have had a long life indeed, but this still feels too soon.

Kate’s other ‘true love’ enters the room and rushes to her side, fawning over her, trying to console her. Not that that interloper would ever know how to truly comfort his Kate.

The skeletal figure motions to him to follow, but he’s never been very good at following other people’s orders. No, his mind has always dictated the next step, and his temper has been rarely challenged. He used to strike fear into the hearts of people everywhere, he---

NEWTON, HEEL!

With a sigh and one last look at his Kate, the soul of Newton follows the Grim Reaper into the afterlife. Like all dogs, he will go to his just reward, an afterlife of chasing small things in wide meadows, eating as many treats as he wishes, and sleeping in downy feather beds as often as he wants. And while a part of him looks forward to this – and already feels lighter, the pain of old age left behind in Kate’s favorite drawing room – there is a part of him that will always belong to Kate that can’t wait until the day she joins him there.

The end

**Author's Note:**

> If anybody knows how to do small caps on ao3, do let me know... I have something else in the works that desperately needs them! 
> 
> I would have added some kind of warning tag for death of beloved puppy (knowing exactly how much that can hurt if you stumble across it at the wrong time) but that would have given the game away. I hope this was somewhat clever and fun?
> 
> Oh and yes, Newton is a major character!


End file.
